"You can rip it. You can chew it. If you’re frustrated, you’ve got something to take your frustration out on." - Judge Kevin Castel extolling the virtues of Twizzlers to jurors at the John “Junior” Gotti trial Photo: NYPost photo composite

Talk about sugarcoating a sticky situation.

The judge presiding over John “Junior” Gotti’s racketeering trial tried to sweeten the mood of his jurors yesterday with a tub of Twizzlers.

Manhattan federal Judge Kevin Castel presented the panel with a plastic canister containing 105 of the individually wrapped treats just before the morning break.

He said the red licorice sticks would help “reinforce my message” not to speak about the case, now in its seventh week.

The judge offered three reasons for his chewy choice of confection.

“If you have a Twizzler in your mouth, you can’t really have a serious conversation,” he said.

Castel also noted the “sweet and pleasant taste” of the strawberry twists, and summed up by saying there were “two ways to go” when eating them.

One method, he said, was to “suck it like a lollipop,” while the other involved more direct action.

“You can rip it. You can chew it. If you’re frustrated, you’ve got something to take your frustration out on,” he said.

The unexpected gift prompted chuckles from the panel, with Juror No. 1 carrying the jug back to the jury room.

But the flavor had apparently worn off by the end of the day, with nearly every juror sporting a grimace as they left the courtroom.

A deep rift among the panel was revealed last week, after one juror penned an anonymous letter complaining about a “hostile environment” created by Juror No. 7’s potty mouth and pro-defense posture.

Tensions escalated further on Monday, with Juror 11 accusing Juror 7 of taunting her as a “hater” during a smoking break — prompting a plea from the judge for more “kind and considerate” behavior.

Yesterday, Juror 11, a city procurement-contract analyst, took a pass on the morning smoke break. Both she and Juror 7 were there for a later smoke break but kept their distance.

Meanwhile, defense lawyer Charles Carnesi said Gotti was considering taking the witness stand after Castel agreed to limit cross-examination so the ex-Gambino boss isn’t turned into a de facto government informant.

Carnesi said Gotti, whose three previous trials ended in hung juries, believes that “maybe this is the way to get finality — get up there, get my story out, get my acquittal and get the hell out of here.”

If he decides to testify, Gotti would take the stand tomorrow morning, the judge said.